Letšeng Tenders Achieve $2,146 p/c in Q1
May 21, 15
(IDEX Online News) – Gem Diamonds released its 2015 Q1 performance figures, showing a slight improvement on the previous year’s results.
The company sold 35,940 carats from the Letšeng diamond mine in Lesotho, at a total cost of $77.1 million. This represented an average of $2,146 per carat (p/c) for the first three tenders of 2015 compared to $2,140 p/c in Q4 2014
This year’s diamond recoveries included an almost entirely unblemished 314-carat Type IIa white diamond and three other diamonds over 100 carats. In terms of sales, eight rough diamonds achieved a value of greater than $1 million each.
“It is pleasing to see that the prices achieved for the first three Letšeng tenders of 2015 are on a par with those of Q4 2014, despite a noticeably weaker overall market for Q1 2015 as reported by other diamond producers, said CEO Clifford Elphick. The company also announced that the planned upgrade of its Plant 2 facility had been completed on time and on budget. The improvement means the plant will increase capacity by 250,000 tons a year while further reducing diamond damage.